Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for the Week of December 8, 2024
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| Clue from the Holiday Dash |
Greetings District 6 Neighbors,
After a couple of quiet weeks for council business with Thanksgiving week committee meetings being cancelled, we’re headed into the final couple of weeks before Christmas and the end of the year.
The only action items at last week’s Common Council meeting came from special meetings of the Finance Committee and the Parks and Recreation Committee held immediately before council, so it was a short one. The mayor had a list of citizen committee appointments for approval – mostly reappointments to those positions. I’m grateful to citizens that donate their time and talents to serving on these volunteer committees. Openings for these positions are posted just like other jobs on the city website:
We voted to award two contracts in the special Finance Committee meeting – 1) The water main construction at Ballard Road and I-41 (Advance Construction, Inc. - $396,302 with contingency). This is for moving the water main in order to accommodate the new I-41 interchange. The state Department of Transportation will be funding this project. 2) Painting and crack sealing for a tunnel at the wastewater treatment plant (Masonry Restoration, Inc. - $118,270 with contingency).
From the Parks and Recreation special meeting, we voted on some fee changes at Reid Golf Course. There will be no increases in any daily fees with the exception of juniors who use a cart. That rate will be increased to the senior/military rate for 2025. The $10/$15 junior fee for golfers who walk will stay the same.
Pass fees will increase for 2025 as shown in red.
We have a fairly full committee schedule for this week – the Parks and Recreation Committee, Community Development Committee and the City Plan Commission will not be meeting.
Municipal Services Committee – Monday, December 9, 4:30 p.m.
The first agenda item affects District 6 residents on the west side of N. Morrison St. After discussion with Alder Croatt, who represents District 14 which includes the east side of the street, the Department of Public Works has altered the design proposal to include a traffic calming circle at the intersection of Morrison and Brewster and curb extension and a raised crosswalk at Parkway and the Erb Pool driveway. The rest of the design proposal remains unchanged, with the traffic calming circle at Lindbergh and parking restricted on the west side of the street. The other items are a contract for the operation, maintenance and monitoring at the closed Mackville landfill (SCS Engineers - $76,361) and a contract for budgeted traffic signal and control equipment. The amount isn’t listed on the agenda item but the 2025 budget for these items is $148,500. I will confirm the amount at the meeting.
Finance Committee – Monday, December 9, 5:30 p.m.
Agenda items include the relocation order for the Lawe St. reconstruction project – the city will need to acquire some small pieces of property along the new right-of-way from the adjacent property owners.
We’re also being asked to approve a contract extension for Booth Management Consulting, LLC, the consulting company managing the ARPA grant administration process. The original contract is set to expire December 31 of this year. The extension would be through December 31, 2026, with no change to the “not to exceed” amount of $150,000.
The development agreement for Lumbini Estates at the intersection of E. Midway and E. Plank Rd. is on the agenda. The final plat for the development was approved in July.
Finally, we are being asked to approve the write-off of $49,609.68 in accounts receivable invoices and $23,407.02 of personal property taxes outstanding for over one year. This does not stop collection efforts on these accounts.
Information items include a number of budget amendments to reflect library reimbursements and the final payment for the park pavilions roof project.
Fox Cities Transit Commission – Tuesday, December 10, 2:50 p.m.
The Commission will vote on approving the October 2024 payments and the Intermunicipal Agreements for Specialized Transportation Services with Outagamie, Winnebago and Calumet County and the City of Neenah and Village of Fox Crossing.
Information items include the October financial report and ridership report.
Utilities Committee – Tuesday, December 10, 4:30 p.m.
The committee will vote on approving several 2025 contracts, including two stormwater management review contracts, each for a portion of the 2025 work (Brown and Caldwell-$80,000 and raSmith - $30,000). The amount for 2025 is higher than 2024 due to the Thrivent property development.
They’ll also vote on a contract extension for biosolids compost processing with Hsu Growing Supply:
Contracts for sewer spot repairs, protruding taps and mineral deposit removal (New Restoration and Recovery Services, LLC dba Aqualis - @129,512.50) and engineering services for the North and Ridgeway water tower coating projects (the agenda did not include the proposed vendor or the contract amount) are on the agenda, along with contract amendments for the native vegetation management contract (NES Ecological Services – increase of $15,000 to cover the new Thrivent development) and the Grit Removal, Blended Sludge Piping, and Heat Exchanger Replacement Project at the wastewater treatment plant (McMahon - $18,900 for additional services not covered in the original contract).
An information item details the contract award for the 2025 Joint Chemical Consortium. Appleton works with Neenah and Menasha to purchase water treatment chemicals in order to obtain better pricing.
Appleton Redevelopment Authority – Wednesday, December 11, 9:00 a.m.
The Redevelopment Authority will vote on an extension to the contract to purchase property at 222 N. Oneida St. for the new transit center. Due to a delay in the completion of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, the closing date would be extended to June 30, 2025. They could go into closed session to discuss the contract.
Safety and Licensing Committee – Wednesday, December 11, 5:30 p.m.
In addition to the normal license applications and renewals, the committee will address two appeals of recommendations for denial of a bartender’s license and will conduct a license revocation hearing for the Speakeasy Ultra Lounge for excessive demerit points. We will also take up the license application for Delaire’s, a coffee shop that will also sell alcohol. Another tenant in the building reported that the owner planned to install gambling machines (the owner was denied a license for a business in Grafton for that reason). A new investigation from APD did not show any evidence of machines being installed. The owner’s attorney has also sent an email to the City Clerk requesting another hold of the item until the owner can be present.
We will also vote on a request from APD for a sole source contract for load bearing vests (Armor Express - $66,000). This purchase would be from allocated ARPA funds.
The Fire Department is requesting approval to purchase cardiac monitors as approved in the 2025 budget. (Stryker Sales, LLC – contract amount not listed on the agenda, but the budgeted amount was $440,000).
AFD is also requesting approval to apply for an Assistance to Firefighters grant to purchase self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The grant request is for $701,805 with a local match requirement of $63,800.46.
Human Resources and Information Technology Committee – Wednesday, December 11, 6:30 p.m.
The committee will vote on a requested over hire of the Deputy Director of Human Resources for up to four weeks prior to the retirement of the current Deputy Director to facilitate training and knowledge transfer.
HR is also requesting approval of a contract with CP2 Consulting to lead the strategic planning process for the City of Appleton. $45,000 in ARPA funds were approved for this project in August.
Information items include a couple of policy updates and the recruitment status report.
I hope all your holiday preparations are going well for any and all the holidays you celebrate at this time of year. In that spirit, I want to give a huge plug to the Appleton Parks and Recreation Department for The Great Holiday Dash. This is a scavenger hunt type of event where teams compete by completing missions that require them to figure out clues to places in and around Appleton and go there to snap a photo or perform a task. For example, we had to find the 2023 “Ballpark of the Year” (Fox Cities Stadium) and record a video of our team singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the stadium entrance. Other clues test your knowledge of holiday movies. This is the second year my walking friends and I have participated, and it was three hours of pure fun. We didn’t win any prizes, but it was definitely worth the $30. Mark the first Saturday in December on your calendar for next year!
Finally...the city has a new website! Check it out at https://appletonwi.gov/ It's easier to navigate and is now optimized for your mobile device. My email address has changed as well. district6@appletonwi.gov
Have a great week!
Denise
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